Thursday, March 26, 2015

Film Review: CINDERELLA

I loved the film!Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Helena Bonham CarterDirector: Kenneth BranaghAs no one in my family was keen on watching fairy tale films, I decided to go to Cinderella (2015) all by myself at Cinemax Sion. THE STORYAdapted from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the film is the story of Ella (Lily James) who is the only child leading a peaceful and loved existence along with her parents (Hayley Atwell and Ben Chaplin). Sadly, her mother falls ill and on her deathbed, makes Ella promise to lead a courageous and kind life. Later, her father gets married to the recently widowed Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) and brings her home along with her two spoilt daughters Drisella (Sophie McShera) and Anastasia (Holliday Grainger). There is no peace in the household from this point.Soon, Ella’s father goes on one of his trips, never to return. Insisting that she cannot afford the servants, Lady Tremaine sends them away and makes Ella do all the work. When her face gets dirty with the ash from the fireplace, the stepsisters begin to call her Cinderella. Cinderella has a miserable life until she happens to meets Kit (Richard Madden) in the forest. She believes that he works in the palace while he is actually the prince. The rest of the story follows the fairy tale and is about the grand ball given at the palace, the fairy godmother helping Cinderella attend the ball till the prince manages to trace her back with the one glass slipper that remains with him.MY PERCEPTIONThough I have read so many versions of this tale and also have watched the animated version of Cinderella, I must say I was hooked from the first scene. The house Ella grows up in, in the middle of the meadow, is a treat to watch. Her friendship with all the farm animals is nothing short of beautiful.Lily James has done a commendable job of acting as Cinderella – courageous and kind indeed. Cate Blanchett is just perfect as the wicked stepmother and so are Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger as the spoilt stepsisters (though the two were a mite too loud). Richard Madden plays Kit aka Prince Charming. He looks gorgeously handsome and fits the role of a prince in love. I was happy to see that there was more of him in the film than in the original fairy tale. The best scene is when the Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) converts the pumpkin into a gorgeous golden carriage, the mice friends of Ella into four white horses, two lizards into footmen and the goose into the coachman. I am sure children would love to watch this one for sure. The film runs for just 1 hour and 46 minutes making it a total joy packaged in less than two hours.VERDICT: A must see if you are fond of romance; fairy tales and magic. I loved it.

If Pranav's never been to the theatre then maybe not. It's not animated and might not hold his interest as he wouldn't understand what's happening. There are a few farm animals and a magical scene with a lot of glitter but that's a small part of the film. :)